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12.24.2015

You probably have pies in the oven, are up to your eyeballs in Christmas bows, or are running around getting those last minute stocking stuffers. The last place that I hope you will be is on the internet, but nonetheless, I wanted to take a few minutes to wish all of the HinesSightBlog readers and social media friends a very Merry Christmas.

I feel as if this month has flown by, and it makes me very sad. As parents, we are already busy then we must add holiday concerts, shopping, baking, and meal planning into the mix. I've yet to visit my neighbors to take them holiday goodies. I've got ingredients sitting on my counter to make fudge. The fudge is not made. I've got holiday cards that still need to go in the mail. My house looks as if someone has ransacked it. Everything is unfinished.

I've run out of time. The holidays are here.

I could not let this day pass without sending you a holiday greeting. I would prefer for it to be the old-fashioned way, a handwritten note in the mail, but this will have to do.

I'll soon be approaching my 5th year of owning this website, and I've gotten to know many of you who stop by here frequently or talk to me on social media. I appreciate you.

May you hold the magic of the season close to your heart.Merry Christmas, Leigh

12.20.2015

North Carolina is gorgeous 365 days a year, but there is something about December that makes my home state magical. For today's post, I turn to my #OutaboutNC community on Instagram to share with you some of my favorite photos tagged this month.

12.06.2015

Food. That word is in my vocabulary a lot. In fact, I think about food a lot. I plan what I'm cooking for dinner. I plan where I want to make a dinner reservation. I plan what I want to come in my weekly produce order. I plan with my daughter on what she wants in her lunch box. I think it's safe to say that everyone likes good food, and everyone needs it in their lives.

Truthfully, edible bites are a holiday gift that fits everyone. My wise uncle used to give cash for Christmas because he said that it is always the "right color, fits everyone, and no one returns it." I see culinary items in the same light. I'll take it one step further and say that we all need to spend more time with each other around a dinner table, whether it is at home or in a restaurant. This is something that the Europeans do so much better than Americans. Here, it is all about fast and quick with drive-thru windows and eating quickly at your work desk. Many may say that today's society "works all time time and has the freedom to work anywhere." If that is truly the case then you should take some time to eat lunch in a restaurant that focuses on locally sourced, sustainable ingredients once in a while with your co-workers and order a cup of coffee after lunch, too. Discuss business and connect with each other. You may get more accomplished than you think. Food can create so many connections and memories.

Here are a few gift ideas to help families connect with each other around food or gifts for the foodies on your list.

Holiday Food Gift Baskets

North Carolina has lots of great products made locally from chocolates to cookies to coffee. There's not a better place to shop for the largest selection than Southern Season in the Southeast. The original store is located in Chapel Hill, N.C. and you could spend hours going through this store. The store is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, and a top gift is the anniversary sampler. Everything in it is delicious, but I have two absolute favorites:The Moonshine Cordialsand Chapel Hill Toffee.

N.C. is known for it's BBQ. NCMade.net has the North Carolina Barbecue box with hush puppy mix and famous BBQ sauces from the eastern part of the state and the piedmont. They are two distinct styles. You can also travel N.C. in search of forming your own opinion about our BBQ with a map to the best in the state.

The Gift of a Nice Dinner for your Family

Wood grilled “crostinis” or "little toasts" in Italian are a new Il Palio specialty. Guests can order house made ciabatta bread that has been slightly charred and smoked over the wood coals, imbuing the bread with a rich smokey flavor. The crostinis are then topped with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and 10-12 different options, from traditional salt cod mantecato (whipped Venetian salt cod) to luxurious chicken liver mouse, house-made ricotta and local honey or warm Dungeness crab salad. The crostini section also encourages table sharing as well as a great opportunity for appetizers for guests at the bar.

I believe food dining should be an experience. I'm not talking about going to your local Chilis or Outback Steakhouse. No. No. Absolutely not! I realize dining out like what I am recommending can be expensive, but the experience of being together in a nice restaurant where a culinary-trained chef leads the kitchen is an experience you will never forget. This is why I am suggesting giving the gift of dining out in a locally-owned restaurant for your family this holiday.

I have a whole list of restaurants that I would recommend in my hometown. A good place to start would be OpenTable in your area. You may want to dine before the holiday or anytime in 2016. If you wanted to get a head start, I'm going to recommend Il Palio in the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill, N.C. I'll be sharing my family experience at the hotel soon on the blog, but this is an example of the type of culinary experience I'm recommending for you to do at least once a year to start. Il Palio is one of the top-ranked Italian restaurants in North Carolina, and because it is a hotel restaurant, it is used to serving children as well. For a family of four, your bill will be over $100 but it is an experience that is absolutely worth the splurge.

Executive Chef Teddy Diggs has even cooked dinner for President Obama. I think it's fun to say, "Hey, my chef cooked for the President and now he's cooking for me." And he really did it on the night we dined, and it wasn't because I was press, but because he's that's hands on in his kitchen. It's a busy time for him and he was down a chef that night.

Chef Diggs got the ultimate compliment from Liza. And we learned he actually did flip her burger. She told him, "My burger was cooked perfectly." He has had lots of practice. He has two children around the same age of my kids, and he told us that he has burger night for them at the restaurant at least once a week.

Il Palio now brings something special to North Carolina for the holiday season. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is a seven-course seafood tasting menu that is custom to holiday tradition in Italy. The cost is $82 per person. The Feast of the Seven Fishes is often served in Italian households on La Vigilia (Christmas Eve), a night that traditionally calls for a partial fast during which no meat should be served. Over time, the evening’s “fast” transformed into course after course of luxurious seafood dishes, often as many as seven, 10 or 13. While few are entirely sure of the significance of the number of courses, the meal carries great traditional symbolism, and most importantly, provides a celebrated opportunity for families and friends to gather.

Give the Gift of Farm-To-Table Produce I adore my weekly local produce box from Papa Spud's. I feel as if I'm eating healthier and saving money, too. I am also able to support one of North Carolina's top industries: farming. My weekly box is about $24 a week so a great gift idea would be one month of produce delivery for your family or friends. It's the gift of eating fresh.

11.29.2015

The other night my Mom took the kids out to dinner, and that got me off the hook for preparing a family meal, but my husband and I still needed to eat. I looked to my pantry and the internet for some quick dinner inspiration. I had fresh kale, white beans, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth. What could I make with those ingredients?

The internet spat out two recipes. One from Martha Stewart. Too complicated. And the other recipe from Whole Foods. Bingo. I scored, and I had everything I needed to make a Vegetarian Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup.

Photo Credit: Whole Foods Website

It's amazing that if you always keep beans, tomatoes, and chicken broth in your pantry, it can always help you out in a pinch. This soup is so easy and is ready very quickly. In fact, I put it together sharing the recipe on Periscope. It's long so my son edited it to give you the recipe part of the scope.

11.27.2015

Some of you may be shopping today. Me? Well, my husband has declared it "declutter in the Hines House" day. That's not my idea of fun at all. But, I'm part of the reason we have so much clutter. I have a difficult time letting go of things. I don't collect things, but I always feel as if I need that brochure, magazine, or business card for research on my next story.

Before I get to decluttering, I wanted to suggest a great holiday gift idea of great scents and wellness this year because it's the perfect gift for the person who already has a lot of stuff, and they don't need more stuff except things they can use in their lives.

I've been using Young Living products since January, and certainly have my favorite products in the inventory. I adore my bamboo diffuser, and instead of candles, I diffuse great scents in my home without the risk of being exposed to toxins, or the risk of a fire. I've thrown away almost every candle in my home except one or two for a power outage.

Other than my years of experience covering spas in luxury hotels, I knew very little about essential oils and have really taken this year as a year to learn more. I've learned a lot and when I do spa interviews now, I feel as if I know so much more about the wellness and therapeutic benefits of those visits. I've also learned that you don't always have to spend several hundred dollars at a spa to get the same benefits at home.

Yesterday, I had the scent of Thanksgiving in my home even though I did not cook one turkey or pumpkin pie at all. This is a little excerpt from my Periscope video, edited by my son.

The catalog for Young Living products is very extensive. From protein powders to cleaning products, there is something for all. A good place to start is with the EveryDay Oils.

I am also a big advocate now of the Thieves products to use for household cleaning products. I make all of my own cleaning products and am saving money by doing this. I gave up my own house cleaners and decided to do it myself. I have to say that my house is cleaner and I never knew how much dirt was really around before I gave up the professional cleaners. I feel so much better not having those strong chemicals around, but now I have the safe scents of pine and lemon.

Connect with me if you want to learn more. You can email me at HinesSightBlog@gmail.com or sign up below.

It's important to note that you can shop retail or become a member and buy wholesale at 24 percent off prices. Get started here: Important fact: If you become a member, you are still considered a customer and you NEVER have to sell any products or build a business in anyway. You just reap the benefits of a great discount. I personally would like for you to contact me before purchasing so I can help you. I can help you get the best products for you. Already know or use Young Living Products? Get started here:http://bit.ly/hinessightoilsNeed some ideas? Email me. We can chat. I love telling people how I use the products.

As I declutter today, I'm going to put on some Christmas music, put some Christmas spirit in the diffuser, then clean my home from top to bottom so that we can get ready for holiday decorations.

As the holidays quickly approach, I wanted to do a holiday guide for tea lovers. Here's what I have put together for you.

I purchased this Capresso tea kettle locally at Tin Rin Teas in Cameron Village. I adore it. It has been a game changer for making tea in my home. It boils water in about two-minutes. It also shuts off automatically. Great for busy and forgetful minds like my own. You can also find it onAmazon.

I love sharing mugs in my Tea with Leigh chats, and I think a personalized mugis so unique and thoughtful. I love a lot of mugs handmade by this Montreal potter, BeardBangs. She has some adorable cat ones that are also in my curated collections on Great.ly.

I am a firm believer of shopping local. If you are in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area, I support our stores like Tin Roof Teas, Southern Season, Quail Ridge Books, Whisk, and more. Learn more about #SmallBusinessSaturday and ShopLocalRaleigh. And on a personal note, I will make commission on these products I've shared with you today as they were personally curated by me. Thank you for shopping with me. I love supporting the work of artisans and writers.

11.15.2015

You know when you find something good, you have got to share it. I feel this way about a local business here in Raleigh. Sola Coffee is a locally owned restaurant in my hometown that is worth the trip. And for me, it really is a trip because its' location on Lead Mine Road is not anywhere on my normal driving routes. I probably drive, John Luther, Sola's owner crazy because I keep telling that he needs a second location in Southwestern Wake, near Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, and downtown Raleigh so I can pop in more often.

The North Carolina Blogger Network recently held a fall event education event at Sola. This cafe is a lot more than just coffee and hot mini donuts even though the hot mini donuts have certainly put this place on the map for local residents. Those hot mini donuts are so good that you just want to pop them in your mouth like popcorn.

Sola is about to sell its millionth hot mini donut. In fact, it may already have reached one million in donut sales by now. Our event was in late October. My favorite is the classic cinnamon sugar flavor.

On Periscope, I took viewers in the kitchen while they were being made.

Sola is also a great place for lunch and dinner. The food is fresh, delicious, and local.

11.08.2015

As founder of #OutaboutNC, I know that culinary travel is a huge part of the charm for a visit to North Carolina. That's because North Carolina is a massive agriculture state and our farm-fresh food draws visitors here. Farming is the root of our rich heritage. North Carolina has the number one spot for sweet potato production in the U.S. We ship sweet potatoes everywhere and I love this educational blog story on the "Life of an N.C. Sweet Potato." Chances are, you are buying an N.C. sweet potato in your grocery store.

Sweet potatoes are now in wide abundance in my weekly Papa Spud's produce box for the home cook. I've been working in my own kitchen to feature the vegetable more on our dinner menu because well, it's always available and the prices are low. You can get two pounds of sweet potatoes for about $3.

I'll be talking more about the vegetable my Tea with Leigh chat on Periscope this Friday, and I'll even tell you a funny story about a Yam Lady I met during my TV days decades ago. We don't really produce yams in North Carolina, and in fact, there is a little bit of confusion between a yam and a sweet potato, but when people refer to yams, they most likely mean sweet potatoes. The N.C. Sweet Potato Commission sums it up best. A true yam is imported from the Caribbean and is quite different from a sweet potato. But, a sweet potato has many, many varieties and its flesh can be white, orange, and purple. The orange variety was introduced decades ago, and in order to distinguish it from the white-flesh sweet potato, suppliers and producers chose an English form from the African-word,"nyami" and labeled "yam." I cooked a great African chicken stew this week from a recipe from Papa Spud's with sweet potatoes as the main ingredient and I'll share that on Facebook later this week. And if you have recipes you love, join me on this chat. Get started by following me on Periscope. I am the only who can talk or be seen in the scopes unless I'm on-scene, but I can interact with you by reading your comments.

Here are eight recipes to help you get sweet potatoes on your menu. All recipes shared here are with permission in a collaborative effort. Some are my colleagues in the N.C. Blogger Network.

8. Quick Apple Sweet Potato Hash from our Small Victories Link Up Blogger, A Pancake Warrior. This recipe was in our link up last week.

Small Victories Sunday Linkup

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Meet Leigh Hines

Leigh Powell Hines, a former TV Journalist/Communications Executive, combined motherhood and her journalism experience and started The Hines-Sight Blog, a lifestyle/travel blog to inspire parents to pack their bags for family travels. On her blog, hotels are just as important as the destination. As founder of#OutaboutNC, an online social media community, she guides visitors to the best places to see, eat, and stay in North Carolina. She loves simple food, hotels and wellness. Even though she has a soft spot for luxury vacations, she has to budget like everyone else and is always searching for that lux deal.